After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
